12 British bombers attacked the Maleme air field. There were some 130 German transport aircraft sittimg on the field. Six transports were seen burning after the British bomber attack. The 5th New Zealand Brigade was being pressed by Germans from the "Prison area". A group of about 150 Germans at Stalos, had been sitting on the heights since 6am. They were commanded by Major Heilmann. They were attacked by a patrol from the New Zealand Army Service Corps. 15 Germans were killed in the attack. A platoon from the 18th Battalion then attacked the German group. Tey took all the German post except one. The New Zealand company commander mistakenly recalled the platoon, because he thought that the heights were stronger tan they actually were.
The New Zealand Division had moved into a defensive position after they had given up trying to prevent the Germans from taking Maleme. There were good reasons to pull back so as to shrink the area to defend. Puttick met with Freyberg at aboutt 11am. The decided that the 5th Breigade should be moved into reserve. The 4th Brigade, commanded by Inglis, would absorb the 1oth Brigade units. Inglis would be in charge of the right side of the front line. Asey, with the Australian 19th Brigade, would be in position west of Perivolia.
This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.
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